2018 Goals

It’s a new year, and after I nurse this hangover from my birthday and NYE party, I’m going to get started on my goals.

There’s an old custom, that says you should do what every you want for the new year, you should be doing on the first day of the year. Let me just say that that Advil and hydration doesn’t count.

Some like to go for a walk on the beach or in the mountains. Others start a new diet or buy a gym membership. Still others start by watching parades and bowl games on the TV. This happens to far too many of my neighbors here in Texas.

In fact, if the Longhorns made it to the post season, you can bet that over half the people on my street will be firmly planted on their couch, beer in hand (can we say hair of the dog), yelling at their flat screen for the next 4 hours.

It’s nothing new that I didn’t grow up in Texas. I didn’t experience Friday night lights the same way as many of my friends. We did watch football at our house though, but it was a different. Growing up in Northern California in the 80’s we watched Joe Montana throw completion after completion to Jerry Rice while drinking Riesling and nibbling on warm gourmet cheese puff pastries.

But I digress.

Today is the first day of my 47th year on this planet, and it is also the first day of 2018. I’m gonna do what I want, to start the new year off right. By puttering around the house, and blogging my goals for the year.

I’ll admit I’m not in the traditional demographic for house blogging. I’m not female. I’m not a Millennial. I’m barely a Gen X’er. I grew up talking on a wall mounted phone, watching a small color TV. Video games weren’t invented until I was in High School. I got my first email after college. I’m older than the Internet, and that makes me REALLY old.

But I look forward and backward at the same time. We have a wonderful 6 year old son, and I think about all the opportunities I still have. I don’t see my life as anywhere near over. Sure, I’m just about middle aged (grandma lived to 103), and I see myself has having half my life left.

OK, I’m not as active as I used to be. My knees don’t bend like they used to. I can’t carry 2 bags of concrete up the side of a hill to make a staircase like I did when i was 19. I don’t like working in the heat – which is also bad because we routinely get 3 months of 100+ days in the summer here.

On the flip side, I have lots more wisdom, patience, and most importantly money.

To help myself look forward, I look backward in the context of our son. He is 5, turning 6 this year. When I was that age, my parents started a new life. They moved half way across California to pursue a new opportunity of owning a hardware store. Ultimately that business failed, and my folks re-started their careers again when I was 10. There’s no shame in that. We do what we have to to provide!

What I see is that it is OK to take chances, it is OK to fail. It’s good to have goals and milestones, and dreams. And it’s OK if you don’t hit them. But the fun is in trying! So here we go!